Five Years of PopMatters: Multimedia

By PopMatters Staff 1 December 2004

One of PopMatters’ youngest sections, Multimedia is an area coming into its own. Video games are a strong industry in the world of consumer products, and games for consoles, computers, and arcades continue to drive much of the development in interactive technologies. At the same time, the cultural relevance of video games hasn’t diminished any since Pac Man first ate a power pellet. If anything, it’s increased as games have taken on new life and begun pushing the borders of contemporary life with virtual reality, online interactivity, and thematic content.

So it’s only fitting that PopMatters’ commitment to exploring culture and media with intelligent and critical perspectives includes coverage of video games, as well. The following are examples of the analysis and insight that PopMatters prides itself in providing its readers.

PopMatters Editors’ Picks

White Supremacist Games or Just More of the Same?Feature by David LeonardLeonard’s look at the connections between mainstream video games and games produced by and for the fringe white supremacist movement is a good example of serious, critical thought addressed towards a relatively virgin field.

Mega-Man Anniversary CollectionReview by Michael David SimsThis review, like so many of the good Multimedia reviews, takes the reader directly into its specific world in such a way that even if the art itself doesn’t thrill you, the writer’s passion does.

The Sims OnlineReview by Jason ThompsonGood, quick history of the Sims and a dismissive take on the hyperreality at work in the new online version. Thompson applies his usual sense of wit and casual style to convey the player experience and comment on the culture in which online interactive games like this exist.

Project .HackReview by Chris WilliamsAn analysis of the intersection of online lifestyles, gaming, and multiple media commodities. In reviewing this series of games in the context of reality, virtual reality, and marketing, Williams illuminates the complex worlds created by media crossovers.

Ninja GaidenReview by Michael David SimsWriting from a dedicated gamer’s perspective, mixed with humor and analyis of the state of game development.